


Liquid Courage

by aoigensou



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Drunken Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 02:20:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1965264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoigensou/pseuds/aoigensou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yoshitaka didn't know why Shindou had dragged him to a party where he didn't know anybody only to ditch him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liquid Courage

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Qem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qem/gifts).



Yoshitaka sighed and let his gaze slide over to Shindou, surrounded by people he didn't recognize. He wasn't sure even Shindou recognized them, but that never stopped him before. Sinking back into the cushions of the couch, he nursed his beer somewhat resentfully, wondering why Shindou had even invited him to the party if he wasn't going to spend any time with him. Yoshitaka's eyes flicked over the other groups of people, some clumping near the drinks and others fiddling with the music, and didn't recognize a soul.

If Shindou was going to bring him to a party and ditch him, at least he could have had the decency to do it at a party where he knew someone, at least. Sighing resentfully, Yoshitaka slouched even further against the couch and drained the rest of his beer. The room swam in front of his eyes slightly; he could tell he had had too much, but there wasn't much else to do while Shindou was playing social butterfly. He wasn't socially inept, but even he could tell at a glance that this group of people weren't interested in Go, and small talk was not his favorite thing.

His bladder protested the amount Yoshitaka'd had to drink, and with a long-suffering sigh he pushed himself forward, grabbing the arm of the couch to steady himself. His eyes flicked back to Shindou, catching him mid-laugh with his eyes crinkled in mirth. Yoshitaka felt his heart miss a beat, and the scowl on his face deepened at the familiar feeling of longing that washed over him. He had known Shindou since they were young teenagers, yet somehow he had managed to miss how attractive his dense friend was for the first five years of their friendship. It had hit him like a sack filled with Go stones the day he had accidentally caught a glimpse of Shindou changing his shirt and showing an indecent expanse of pale chest that okay wow, Shindou was kind of ridiculously hot in a way he hadn't wanted to contemplate at the time.

Yoshitaka stood, wobbling only very slightly, and made his way purposefully over to the bathroom without catching Shindou's eye to relieve himself. He hadn't wanted to contemplate his friend's attractiveness at the time, but in the two years since that first stirring of attraction Yoshitaka couldn't help but think of much else when the two of them were together. Yoshitaka's face screwed up into a half grimace, half scowl, flushing the toilet and washing his hands. Shindou was oblivious at the best of times, but he had proven to be off the charts in density when it came to people coming on to him. Yoshitaka had, after an entire week of working up his courage, tried to feel him out on the idea of fooling around, but Shindou had taken it as something else entirely. The two of them had ended up playing 12 straight hours of random Go variant games Shindou had come up with and wanted to try.

Sometimes Yoshitaka thought Shindou was being deliberately obtuse because he was already in a relationship, but when he saw the frustrated look on Touya's face as he watched Shindou sometimes, he knew that that couldn't be the case. The two of them might have been connected at the hip sometimes, but Touya and Shindou were probably not dating.

Yoshitaka tried to imagine the consequences of that union happening, and only got a vague sense of foreboding for the Go world, coupled with a sick sense of jealousy. Sure, he wasn't some sort of freakish Go prodigy, but that didn't mean he couldn't hold his own with Shindou. Besides, he was hot. People told him that all the time! Sort of. Well, one person. But it counted!

Yoshitaka grabbed another beer against his better judgment and trudged back to his spot on the couch, only to find it being taken up by a ridiculously touchy-feely couple. Taking a deep swallow of the beer, he considered telling the two of them to get a room or something, but instead he just tightened his grip on the bottle and shuffled over to where Shindou was in the middle of telling a joke.

"And that's why I'm no longer allowed to visit Tokyo Disney," Shindou said, his drunken smile twisting into a crooked grin, and the people around him laughed uproariously. Yoshitaka had no idea what Shindou was talking about, but the thought of him being banned from an amusement park was so typical of him that he couldn't help but laugh along softly.

"Oh hey, Waya!" Shindou said brightly when he noticed him nearby. "Having fun?"

"Sure," Yoshitaka said, shrugging a bit and raising his beer bottle.

"Great!" Shindou said, reaching over to grab at the shirt fabric at Yoshitaka's elbow and tug him away from the still-laughing group of strangers. "I'm glad you came with me."

"Not like you're spending time with me or anything," Yoshitaka said softly, his lips pursing into something that definitely wasn't a pout.

"Huh?" Shindou asked with all his usual eloquence, and Yoshitaka shook his head.

"Never mind." He took another drink, and found a spot against the wall to lean while he resumed his people-watching. Shindou stood next to him, their arms almost touching. Yoshitaka could feel the heat radiating from Shindou, every bit as warm as the light of his name implied, and had the overwhelming urge to move closer until their arms were pressed together. He still had the presence of mind to not act on the impulse, though, instead humming along with the rock song someone had put on the stereo.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before Shindou was fidgeting beside Yoshitaka, unable to talk being still for long. Sometimes the duality of Shindou's personality confused Yoshitaka, but it was charming at the same time. He had seen Shindou sit seiza for six hours at a time while playing Go, but away from the goban he was all kinetic and frenetic, as if all the energy he wasn't using playing Go was trying to get out all at once. Without looking over at him, Yoshitaka slid his hand over to Shindou's to wrap his fingers around his wrist to get his attention.

"Go on, go have fun," he said with a roll of his eyes. Yoshitaka felt rather than saw Shindou's shake of his head next to him.

"No, I came here with you so I want to hang out with you," Shindou said with a touch of stubbornness in his voice.

"We always hang out," Yoshitaka said, feeling his cheeks color and hoping that nobody would notice, or write it off as his drunkenness.

"We always play Go. I wanted to do something other than Go this time," Shindou said brightly. Yoshitaka felt whatever reply he had die on his tongue. Shindou was obsessed with Go, so going out of his way to do something not related to Go with him when Yoshitaka would have been satisfied playing with him was something that caught him off guard.

"Oh..." he said, bringing the beer bottle to his lips to give himself a reason for not saying anything else. He glanced over at Shindou, and found him grinning at him.

Something inside Yoshitaka broke at the sight of the smile, and he tightened the fingers around Shindou's wrist slightly. "I love you and your stupid attractive face," he blurted out, his entire face ablaze and hands trembling.

"You're drunk," Shindou said, prying the bottle out of Yoshitaka's hand with his free hand. Yoshitaka shook his head, wishing he could sink into the floorboards and disappear.

"No! I mean yeah, a little, but that's not why--" His explanation was interrupted by Shindou slipping his hand out of Yoshitaka's grip and turning so that they were holding hands properly. Shindou squeezed his hand lightly, raising his eyebrows as he finished Yoshitaka's beer. He could hardly form a thought about indirect kisses before Shindou leaned in far enough that he couldn't be heard by anyone else.

"It's okay, me too." It was ambiguous enough that Yoshitaka didn't know which part Shindou was agreeing with. That he loved him? His heart gave a ridiculous thump at the thought, but more likely he was talking about being drunk.

"You too?" Yoshitaka asked, his voice making a noise that it hadn't since it had broken. He had the urge to back away, to run and escape the humiliation he was facing, but Shindou's hand in his was so warm, and they were so close together that he couldn't bring himself to follow through.

"Yeah." And through a haze of alcohol and bad pop music at ridiculous volumes, Shindou closed the gap between them and kissed him.


End file.
